With Archie's right hand man shot up by an unknown gunman and out of commission, it's now up to Terry Quinn, Doyle's key enforcer and a very likable, loyal, but lethal, badass, to figure out the who the threat is and efficiently eliminate it before things get out of hand. But as the ground gets shakier, the stakes escalate with each spray of bullets, blood and dropping bodies. As one mystery is solved, more questions are unearthed, leaving Quinn racing against the clock. Soon, the entire city is embroiled in a turf war where it's hard to tell the good guys from the bad guys and who's betraying whom.
Can Quinn, ever loyal to his boss, put a stop to it, while protecting those he loves, and still get out of it alive?
The characters are well-formed and nuanced. They come alive, breathing, bleeding, and struggling with their inner demons as they try to stay alive and maintain their power and honor. This book is as much about the honor among thieves and the loyalty of friendship as it is about the shoot-'em-up-bang! lifestyle. Violent, touching, bloody, humorous, cruel, dangerously terrifying and unexpectedly sentimental at times, it wraps up a nice package of dimensionality and reflects a complete picture of the often conflicting nature of the human condition. Neither good, nor bad, with no apologies or pretenses.
As McCauley writes, "Quinn didn't like killing people just for the hell of it. Murder could become an easy solution for most problems. Murder could become a habit and habits make you sloppy. Sloppy got you killed."
The action is fast paced and keeps your attention, flipping pages fervently to see how they will get themselves out of the most recent conundrum. Often, the dry humor provides a nice break to particularly tense scenes, avoiding too much heaviness and darkness. The result is a thoroughly enjoyable experience where you will find yourself alternately fearing for their safety, cheering with relief as they clear hurdles and realize victories, and seething with rage, desiring vengeance for when they are wronged!
A delightful, adventurous ride-along in old fashioned gangster style that quickly engages the reader and evokes the desire to reach right into the pages and help Quinn smack the smugness out of the guest he's interrogating. As much as you might hate violence, you will find yourself cheering him on to "just plug the rat, already!" You're fingers will itch to pick up a Tommy gun and join in the charge! This, is Archie Doyle's New York. Welcome to 1930.
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